


The Many Misadventures of Cardan

by librarian_of_velaris



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Funny, Gen, POV Cardan Greenbriar, Silly, and explores this new world, and has fun, cardan gets into trouble, cardan goes to the mortal world, fun fun fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 10:30:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18259463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/librarian_of_velaris/pseuds/librarian_of_velaris
Summary: In an attempt to learn more about the Mortal World, Cardan visits it himself. There, he learns that there's more to the Mortals than meets the eye.Every chapter is a new adventure for Cardan!





	The Many Misadventures of Cardan

__

Since Cardan’s first trip to the Mortal World with Jude, he’d been itching to go back.

Every day, he’d find her and beg her to take him back to the giant building they’d visited—the  _mall,_ he’d say with reverence. There was so much he wanted to explore!

But somehow, he’d always interrupt Jude at inopportune times. Like during a council meeting. Or when she was training—he’d never forget how yesterday when he’d inquired, she put her sword to his neck and told him never to bother her when she was training.  _Ever._

An hour later, they were tangled between the sheets, Cardan telling Jude how much he loved it when she threatened him, and to feel free to do it again. Jude had smiled viciously, promising him she would.

At dinner that night, he asked again. “Can we go back to the mall?”

“Don’t you have Kingly duties?”She replied, and then added, “no, we can’t.”

Cardan frowned. Truthfully, yes. He did have Kingly duties. But none were as important as visiting the Mortal World. “I could visit as a learning experience!”He claimed. After all, he  _would_ be learning new customs—and all about mortals. He made sure to mention the education value and how it would benefit a King to know about  _all_ worlds, not just Faerie.

Jude sighed. “I don’t have time to take you.”

That didn’t stop Cardan, though. “I’ll go myself, then.”

“NO.”

He frowned. “Why not?”

“You’re…” Jude waved a hand up and down his body, “you. You’d stand out.”

“I didn’t stand out last time!”

“You did, but people just assumed you were edgy.”

“ _I am going._ ”

Jude rolled her eyes. “You’re going to get into trouble if you go by yourself. But fine, do what you want. Just stop asking me. Please.”

_Yes!_ Cardan tried not to let his enthusiasm show. It wouldn’t be the same without Jude, but he could handle it on his own. He’d make his own fun. And if he got bored, well, there were plenty of mortals to play tricks on.

He regained his composure, the wide grin evolving into a mischievous one. “How about you make me stop asking?”

Jude eyed him.

“Upstairs. Now.”

***

“I’m going to the Mortal World in the morning.”

Jude looked up at Cardan. “You can’t wait one day?”

“Nope.”

Jude sighed. Cardan kissed her cheek. “I promise I won’t get into any trouble,” he said.

“You say that now. But you’re  _Cardan Greenbriar._ You’re the king of trouble.”

“Don’t you mean Elfhame?”

She punched him in the shoulder.

He flicked her nose in retaliation.

“Jude dear, I’m going tomorrow. I’m not compromising on that.”

Jude rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine. But I can’t go with you, so just…try not to make too many waves.”

“I’ll stay out of trouble,” Cardan said, flashing her his usual shit-eating grin.

“Somehow, Cardan, I doubt that. But promise me you’ll try?”

His tail wrapped around her, pulling her close until she was eventually swept up into his arms. “Of course.”

“Good. Now put me down. I have to pee.”

Cardan frowned, but let her down nonetheless, calling after her. “Hurry back, my love, I want to cuddle before bed!”

She held up her middle finger until she reached the bathroom.

“I don’t know what that means, wife! A term of endearment? Love?  _Passion?_ ”

Cardan swore he heard her sighing through the door.

“I heard that,” he muttered, laying down and waiting for his wife to return.

***

Cardan couldn’t sleep all night.

Excitement buzzed through his veins, his mind racing—how was he getting to the mortal world? What time should he leave? Should he just go now? Where should he go first? If Jude could hear his thoughts, she’d likely kill him. Good thing she was fast asleep.

Slowly—careful not to wake Jude—Cardan crawled out of bed. It wasn’t yet dawn. The birds weren’t singing, the sun hadn’t cast its colorful waves across the sky; no, instead, the stars still sparkled, and the moon still glowed in the darkness, casting his shadow down the hallway, down the stairs, and into the library housed on the second floor.

If he couldn’t sleep, at least he could try and learn something about the land he was to visit in a few hours. He wouldn’t dishonor Jude by not following Mortal traditions while he was in her former world. Though she might not live there anymore, her people—the humans—still deserved respect.

Even if he didn’t quite understand humans. Not yet.  

Jude constantly tried to explain the Mortal mindset to him. How they live with their mortality, knowing that they will die in a mere 80 years (Jude had told him that was a long life. How silly a notion!), how they govern (Cardan nearly gasped when she’d told him that most places have elected officials, not royalty. How could they trust their people with choosing who should rule!), and a slew of other questions he’d ask, one after another. Some nights, there were hundreds, others, only one. Cardan knew she was shocked with how little he’d known about humans, yet how much he’d once despised them.

_How could you hate what you don’t even know?!_ Jude had screamed at him one night, as he’d told her how little knowledge he—and other faeries—had.

Cardan had shrugged.  _We never thought to learn. There was no need, not when we weren’t housing them in a role any larger than—_

_Slave,_ she’d said.

He nodded.  _But things are different now. You are Queen. A human, a mortal. And…I think I’d like to learn more about my wife, the world she came from._

_It’s not my world._

_It_ was.  _So I would like to learn._

So he was trying. He really was.

And he’d come around to some of their customs. Just recently, Cardan learned he liked ice cream, a mortal treat that he’d been given on an outing with Jude. As soon as they got back to Elfhame, Cardan ordered the chefs to always,  _always,_ have ice cream on hand. Just in case he—or Jude—had a craving. And to share with the others, he’d added, after stuffing his face with at least a pint.

But he just didn’t understand mortals, not yet. And thus, as he’d explained to Jude, couldn’t understand her, either. So going to the Mortal World, as he’d  _tried_ to tell her, was a great idea. Not just to educate himself for his kingdom’s sake, but also to learn about the world she came from, her own customs.

The section on the Mortal World was covered in dust. It hadn’t been touched for at least twenty years, if not more. Cardan, certainly, hadn’t remembered his father or his siblings coming down here to read up on the humans, either.

Unlike the sections on the Undersea or the Nixies or even the Unseelie Court, which housed hundreds, possibly thousands, of books, the Mortal World had a mere eight.  _That makes my reading easy._ He pulled every book from the shelf, found a table, and got to reading.

***

By the time dawn came, he’d read each of the eight books on the Mortal World.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have much to offer. The Fae, it seemed, hadn’t taken any interest in their sister world. Though he’d found some maps, he couldn’t find a single thing on their culture, their likes and dislikes, or even their leadership. Even the maps seemed  _off._ Most were unfinished, as if the cartographer couldn’t have been bothered to finish. Cardan was, he realized, one of the only Kings to take any interest in Mortal affairs.

No matter. He was still taking himself to the Mortal World. And since no one bothered to record their experiences, he grabbed a notebook and quill and decided that  _he_ would be the one to do it.

Finally, the Fae would have information on the Mortal World.

Cardan looked outside. It was time to go. And so he ran back upstairs, giving Jude a quick peck on the cheek and a loving goodbye, and set off on his latest journey.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This is really just something I've always wanted to see--like let's have Cardan getting into all sorts of antics in the Mortal World, y'know? It's so much fun to write and I hope you enjoyed :)


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